Leap of Faith
by The Hidden One
Summary: He didn't understand why I was here again. I did. It was for the exhilaration, for the thrill. I wanted to stand on the edge, fling myself off, and fall...this time having him with me. This time I wanted to go cliff-diving with Edward Cullen.


Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer and Little, Brown Company and I do not claim to own them.

**Leap of Faith  
**by: The Hidden One

* * *

"Don't you dare, Bella."

These wondrous, lovely words came from the only person on Earth that I would probably listen to when it concerned something dangerous, irrational, and completely insane – Edward Cullen.

Unfortunately for him, today is not one of those times.

"It's a lot more fun than it seems," I said to him, looking out at the water with a smile that probably made me appear psychotic.

"You almost _drowned_ last time," Edward said, exasperated.

"But now you're here to save me," I logically point out. "You aren't going to let me drown or anything. Why are you so worried?"

I already knew the answer to that question, of course. It made no sense to him that I would ever want to go cliff-diving again, since that was just yet another of my near death experiences. That and it reminds him of everything he tries to forget – his leaving, my depression, my attachment to Jacob Black, my apparent suicide, Jake saving my life, his near death experience, and that whole fantastic adventure.

But in all honesty, I am totally over that pothole in my life. Edward is here and with me now so I have no reason to recall those black and despairing days.

Except for the cliff-diving.

I couldn't forget that one euphoric and exhilarating moment. Before, I originally did it to hear Edward's voice but there was so much beyond that that I also loved.

It was fun; it was exciting. Cliff-diving is and forever will be the one bright spot in that whole chain of events.

It was also dangerous, as I had clearly proven, which is exactly the reason why Edward is refusing me now.

"Come on, Edward. I'm not scared and there definitely isn't any reason for you to be. I want to do this _with_ you now. It'll be fun, I promise," I begged him.

We were both standing on a cliff looking down at the water. And really, it wasn't _so _far down. Plus, it wasn't nearly as windy or cold as that one day I tried it before. Actually, by Forks' standard, it was actually quite warm considering the clouds.

Of course, it was no where near the Phoenix standards of being warm.

"Bella, please," Edward said, and I could tell he was close to caving in. I almost wish I had Alice here to tell him she could 'see' he'd enjoy it. That is, if he would ever decide to jump with me.

The obstacle in the matter was his bad memories that this was bringing back. From what I can tell, he was still bitter about needing Jacob to save my life since he wasn't there. Even now that he is here, he can't forget anything.

"I'm jumping," I state, "whether you jump with me or not. If you don't jump in to save me, though, this time it _will_ be your fault if I die." Okay, maybe that _wasn't_ the best joke for the moment, but hey, it was the truth from my perspective.

Edward did give me his half-smile, but I could tell by his eyes that he wasn't completely convinced to jump with me yet.

Though technically, the only aspect that was similar to the time before was the 'jumping off the cliff' part. Obviously we couldn't go to La Push and jump off that cliff again, so I found a different one that had been advertised in a few tourist brochures. So that makes the place different, the weather different, the motive different, and everything different. Except the exhilaration, of course!

Still though, Edward hesitated.

I sighed and moved away from the edge of the cliff where we were standing. I knew he could stop me at any time. With his strength, speed, and reflexes, he could grab and drag me to the car before I even realized I had stopped moving on my own accord.

But that didn't mean I wasn't going to at least try.

There was one more difference. This time, I wanted a running head start. This time, I wanted to fling myself off the edge and fly to the water below. Of course, I also wanted Edward with me, but I guess that wish was going unfulfilled today.

So, I ran for the cliff's edge.

I flung myself over the ledge and dove for the water below, my feet still first.

The wind whistled by me blowing my hair in all directions. _There_ was the exhilaration of falling through air without worrying about what happened when I hit the bottom. A few thoughts whizzed through my head… feet-first…that's not really diving, then…Edward didn't even stop me…

Then, something slammed into me so hard I lost my breath. …hit a rock? But I'm too far out!

_Edward_. His arms circled my waist and held me close to him as we plunged for the water below. I barely had time to breathe again before he was kissing me.

I was _beyond_ dazzled at this point. The combined exhilarations of cliff-diving and Edward's kiss were overwhelming me with absolute bliss. There was nothing to feel except air and Edward. I wanted to freeze time and just remain here forever. Nothing in life could get better than this.

As usual, though, Edward ended the moment by pulling his lips off of mine. I felt acute disappointment before I heard him whisper the word, "Breathe." I barely had time to understand what he said and follow his order before we splashed into the water I had completely forgotten about.

We sunk deep into the ocean, still entwined. With Edward's hard, marble body, I knew we sank further than I'd ever manage on my own. That deep breath of air I took before we hit the water was much needed as it took us a long time to even stop sinking.

That knowledge erased some of the disappointment I had when he had pulled away. Once again, he was saving my life. Or at least a few of my brain cells.

Of course, a great benefit of cliff-diving with a vampire is that he is always willing to do all the work of swimming to the surface for you. That way, you never have to exert any effort at all as he just gladly pulls you back up with him.

Edward is my willing, cliff-diving vampire and sooner than I imagined possible, we broke the surface.

I gasped for air, blinking water out of my eyes. Edward, however, didn't have to _breathe_ so he just laughed and kept us both afloat. That was another perk of cliff-diving with a vampire.

"You're right, that was fun," Edward said. And, once I had gotten the water out of my eyes, I could see his grin.

I laughed and hugged him. "See? Of course I was right! You just have to trust me more often."

Edward let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "I _do _trust you, Bella!"

A huge grin spread across my face. He was in for it now…

"Ok, then let's do it again!"


End file.
